Design-and-Arts

Client

Sector

E-Commerce Dealer and Auctioneer specialising in Murano glass, porcelain and art pottery located in Germany

Requirement

A comprehensive requirement for an online auction platform to run quarterly auctions of Studio Pottery as well as an additional integrated e-commerce website selling 20th century European decorative arts.

System

Background

Design-and-Arts are a well established e-commerce dealer based in Hannover, Germany, specialising in Murano glass, Art Nouveau and Art Deco period glass, porcelain and decorative arts. Their focus prior to engaging with iRostrum had been on selling through their eBay shop but as their reputation in the market had grown they were looking to launch their own auction platform - initially for specialist auctions of European studio ceramics, with the view of potentially expanding into other sectors as opportunities presented themselves.

Special Requirements

Design-and-Arts specialise in European decorative arts have a strong national buying audience. As such they wanted to maintain communications with their loyal German market whilst providing easy access to a more global market so it was important for them to find an auction platform that could offer multi-lingual capability and accommodate multiple currency preferences.

In addition they were looking for a cost effective solution to updating their existing business website, bringing it in line with the latest presentation guidelines, and expanding it into a more comprehensive e-commerce platform that could be fully integrated to run in tandem with their new iRostrum auction platform - offering works for direct sale via their Gallery Shop.

The Solution

As part of their requirements we were able to build multi-lingual functionality into the system - a feature that is now available to all iRostrum clients. This allows the iRostrum platforms to accommodate any language, allowing users to switch between multiple language versions of the platform making it even more accessible to a global audience.

The structure of iRostrum allows us to adopt a responsive approach to clients' needs and we have the flexibility, capability and industry understanding to assimilate client requirements and turn this into reality, sharing development cost wherever possible to offer exceptional value for money.

The Result

“Before fully engaging with iRostrum we had explored the possibility of building our own auction platform but found that the time, complexity and extensive cost involved in doing so just did not make it viable. They were very thorough in understanding our immediate and long term requirements to ensure that they would provide future proof solutions to ensure that we would be saving money in the long term. iRostrum are a highly professional and experienced team and have been able to offer valuable insight into best practices on both technical and auction matters.

As well as the auction platform they were able to provide us with a low cost but great looking e-commerce website which integrates seamlessly with the iRostrum auction platform." Marcus Muller, Hannover, Germany, 2016